Richard Irwin

Weeklies reporter

Recent articles

Travel

Frosty the Snowman has nothing on Bonhomme Carnaval, the iconic snowman of Quebec’s Winter Carnival. Like Frosty, Bonhomme invites children of all ages to come out and play in his fantastic winter wonderland every year.Since it began in 1894, the Carnaval de Quebec has grown into the largest winter...

Holidays

Billions of people will celebrate Chinese New Year Thursday, including the 1.5 million of Asian descent living in Southern California.Families have spent recent days cleaning their homes to prepare for the Year of the Ram. Most will hold held their annual reunion banquet, gathering generations together for a communal meal.“The Lunar New Year is the biggest holiday in the Chinese culture,” said Sonya Lee, professor of Chinese culture at USC. “Chinese...

Travel

Dresden has long been considered the jewel box of Saxony, Germany, with its many baroque and rococo buildings. This gem was destroyed in the controversial Allied bombing that took place during the last months of World War II. An estimated 25,000 residents died in the attack, which leveled the city center.It also lost some of its luster under the Communist regime of East Germany. But the capital city of the state of Saxony, located near the border with the Czech Republic,...

Parades

Thursday’s Rose Parade centered on lives reflecting the theme of “Inspiring Stories.” Leading the way was posthumous Grand Marshal Louis Zamperini whose amazing life is chronicled in the recently released Angelina Jolie film “Unbroken.”Other American heroes with inspiring stories in the parade, ranged from wounded veterans and organ donors to Special Olympians and plucky high school...

Parades

PASADENA >> With only a couple days left before the Rose Parade, float designers are putting the petals to the metal, and the wood, and the Styrofoam.Actually, designers have to put flowers on every exposed surface before their floats can appear in the annual Tournament of Roses Parade. Thousands of volunteers help by putting the petals on by hand.On Monday, workshops from Irwindale to Pasadena were filled with volunteers from close to home and throughout the...

Parades

Roses are the symbol of true love. So the popular reality show “The Bachelor” is using 25,000 of them to celebrate love on its Rose Parade float.Given this year’s theme of “Inspiring Stories,” the television show is “inspiring love” with its floral float. The unscripted series has brought love stories to millions of viewers since 2001. On New Year’s Day, “The Bachelor” will reach millions more with its first...

Parades

The original cast of the “The Love Boat” will reunite for Princess Cruises’ first Rose Parade float.The iconic television series stars will gather on a floral ship celebrate the 50th anniversary of the popular cruise line based in Santa Clarita.“Since the theme of this year’s Rose Parade is ‘Inspiring Stories,’ we can think of no more perfect opportunity to launch our 50th anniversary year celebrations,” said Princess...

Parades

Brent Dillard can’t wait to march down Colorado Boulevard on New Year’s Day with the Cypress High School Band. The 15-year-old plans to walk the whole 5.5 mile distance, even though he suffers from cerebral palsy.This year’s parade theme is “Inspiring Stories.”“We have our own inspiring story in Brent. He has worked tremendously hard to march in the Rose Parade,” said Cypress band director James Quirion. “Brent has become...

Parades

Students in the Temple City High School marching band are excited about playing at Bandfest, a festive event that will feature some of the best units from around the world. All of the bands — 20 of them — have come to Pasadena to perform in the Tournament of Roses Parade. “It’s a really fun exhibition, where we’ll get to show off our field show,” said Bert Ferntheil, Temple City band director, of the performance based on Cirque du...

Parades

The Maui High Marching Band will share the aloha spirit, when they march in the Tournament of Roses Parade. The Sabers are very excited to perform in this year’s New Year’s Day event.“They only pick the best bands from around the world, but we thought we had a chance because Tournament President Richard Chinen was raised in Hawaii,” said Band Director Kerry Wasano.So, the Maui band was thrilled when they got the invitation. But they figured they had...